Tag: cartilage piercing cleaning

Cartilage piercing or “Conch piercing” as it’s otherwise known, is one type of ear piercing that you could opt for.

You could end up having an outer or an inner cartilage piercing and it mainly depends upon where the ear actually is.

Obviously everybody is different and so the type of cartilage piercing that you end up with will not necessarily be the same one that your friend ended up with for example.

The Differences between Inner and Outer Conch piercings

The main difference between the two different conch piercings is that the inner one is situated in the centre cartilage and the outer one is situated on the outer cartilage.

You will find that the inner piercings tend to be a little larger than the outer ones. Therefore if you do end up with an inner cartilage piercing, once it has been properly stretched it is possible to wear an earlet.

If you are having an outer cartilage piercing then you should be aware that if you have it lower than 16 gauge then you run the risk of having it ripped out. So always choose a piece of jewellery that is at least 16g. Both types of cartilage piercings can be performed using dermal punching. Typically however an inner conch piercing will be performed using a hollow, large gauge needle and a barbell will be used as the initial piece of jewellery.

The outer cartilage piercing will usually be performed using a big gauge piercing needle. The initial jewellery for an outer piercing will typically be a curved barbell.

What you should know

Cartilage piercings can look really good once they have healed. The actual healing time can be anything from three to twelve months and you will need to follow certain after care procedures too to help it to heal properly. It is important to note that you should never attempt to change the type of jewellery that you have in the piercing whilst it is still healing.

If for whatever reason you do want to change the jewellery, you should ask the piercer to do it for you. This is because it could damage the piercing if you take it out.

Cartilage piercings are popular and they can be performed in a variety of different locations on the ear. You may want to talk through your options with the piercer to see which one would be better suited to you. Just as long as you take good care of the piercing after it has been done, you will get to experience the most benefits!